Jesse Love is a West Coast kid, and for the second season in a row, the Richard Childress Racing driver has picked up the win at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway. Last year, the win secured him the series championship in the final season of NASCAR's Playoff format. This year, could the win mark the beginning of Love's march to a second straight title, this time in NASCAR's Chase?
That remains to be seen, but Love's win on Saturday night in the Timberland PRO 200 has flipped the script. Paired with a rough outing for Sheldon Creed, the championship leader heading into the night, Love's win handed him a decisive lead in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series standings.
And following a dominant performance on Saturday night, where Love led a race-high 156 laps and swept the Stage wins, he has sent a big message.
With three races remaining in the championship fight, Love now leads Justin Allgaier by 36 points.
The win is the second of the season for Love, and it marks the fifth victory of his 95-race NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series career.
Mayer made an incredible rally on Saturday night, as he started at the rear of the field following a blown motor in practice earlier in the day.
Allgaier, the runner-up driver in the championship standings, would come home with a third-place finish.
Corey Day saw his two-race winning streak snapped as he crossed the finish line in fourth, and Sammy Smith rounded out the top-five finishers.
Sheldon Creed finished second to Love in Stage 1, and it appeared he would have a shot at keeping his two-point lead intact at the end of the evening. However, in the Stage break caution, Creed would shut his car off in an effort to save fuel, and the car would not refire. Creed would have to spend three laps on pit road getting mechanical repairs, and would return to the race.
However, Creed would finish 32nd, two laps off the pace.
As a result, Creed would drop from first in the championship standings to fourth, and he now sits 59 points behind Love, the winner of Saturday's race.
*This story will be updated with post-race quotes and additional information.
Updated Chase Grid (Three Races Remaining)
1. Jesse Love, 2,367 points
2. Justin Allgaier, -36
3. Corey Day, -39
4. Sheldon Creed, -59
5. Carson Kvapil, -79
6. Sam Mayer, -86
7. Sammy Smith, -137
8. Taylor Gray, -141
9. Austin Hill, -143
10. Parker Retzlaff, -173
11. Brandon Jones, -183
12. Rajah Caruth, -213
Timberland PRO 200 Race Results
Fin | Car | Driver | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | Jesse Love (C) | 200 | 75 |
2 | 41 | Sam Mayer (C) | 200 | 46 |
3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier (C) | 200 | 52 |
4 | 17 | Corey Day (C) | 200 | 41 |
5 | 8 | Sammy Smith (C) | 200 | 42 |
6 | 20 | Brandon Jones (C) | 200 | 31 |
7 | 26 | Dean Thompson | 200 | 31 |
8 | 18 | William Sawalich | 200 | 29 |
9 | 88 | Rajah Caruth (C) | 200 | 40 |
10 | 1 | Carson Kvapil (C) | 200 | 34 |
11 | 99 | Parker Retzlaff (C) | 200 | 26 |
12 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | 200 | 28 |
13 | 24 | Harrison Burton | 200 | 24 |
14 | 32 | Andrew Patterson | 200 | 23 |
15 | 21 | Austin Hill (C) | 200 | 24 |
16 | 27 | Jeb Burton | 200 | 21 |
17 | 96 | Anthony Alfredo | 200 | 20 |
18 | 02 | Ryan Ellis | 200 | 19 |
19 | 45 | Lavar Scott # | 200 | 18 |
20 | 19 | Brent Crews # | 199 | 17 |
21 | 48 | Patrick Staropoli # | 199 | 16 |
22 | 87 | Nick Sanchez (i) | 199 | 0 |
23 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | 199 | 14 |
24 | 31 | Blaine Perkins | 199 | 13 |
25 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | 199 | 12 |
26 | 92 | Josh Williams | 199 | 11 |
27 | 42 | Brad Perez | 199 | 10 |
28 | 54 | Taylor Gray (C) | 199 | 19 |
29 | 53 | Will Rodgers | 198 | 8 |
30 | 43 | Connor Mosack (i) | 198 | 0 |
31 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | 198 | 6 |
32 | 00 | Sheldon Creed (C) | 198 | 14 |
33 | 55 | Joey Gase | 198 | 4 |
34 | 91 | Leland Honeyman (i) | 197 | 0 |
35 | 44 | Brennan Poole | 197 | 2 |
36 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | 179 | 1 |
37 | 47 | Dawson Cram | 126 | 1 |
38 | 9 | Jake Finch | 54 | 1 |
(C) indicates a Chase contender
# indicates a Rookie of the Year contender
(i) indicates a driver ineligible to score points
Add us as a preferred source on Google